


heartfelt

by caballero_meta



Category: Kirby (Video Games)
Genre: Background Character Death, M/M, Swearing, and. might forget a few ngl, characters tagged in order of appearance not relevancy, just. bg villain dies, kirby be crushin and he doesnt know it pls have patience with him, will. add more tags as i post the other chapters adnajdnjksadn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26451667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caballero_meta/pseuds/caballero_meta
Summary: Kirby would do anything for his friend Fluff!…though maybe he should stop and think why.
Relationships: Prince Fluff/Kirby (Kirby)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

Kirby couldn't think of anything he preferred over spending time with his friends! There was something special every day when he meet up with someone, and he wasn't against traveling to completely different planets (or dimensions!) to see a friend, especially when it was a busy friend.

And, even if he didn't want to admit it out loud, there probably wasn't anyone he preferred hanging out with over Prince Fluff.

It had taken him a while to get used to the idea of having a favourite friend, and he made sure to still give the same attention to all his other friends, but there was something about the prince that kept drawing Kirby in.

He thought it had something to do with them looking so similar. After all, he knew it was normal for members of the same species to want stick together, that's why the Squeaks were so close, and why so many species in Dream Land made little villagers between themselves, which was specially common amongst waddle dees and cappies. Sure, he wasn't sure they were the same species but the similarities were so striking, from the exact body shape, same size of arms and legs, and the fact he was sure they had the same abilities. He had never seen Fluff inhale or fly, but neither of those things were possible in Patch Land, so who knew! Maybe if he went to Dream Land, they'd be exactly the same.

And while their eyes were very different, it reminded him of Meta Knight, in a way. He also looked an awful lot like Kirby, but he hadn't seen him inhale either, and he had giant bat wings. Maybe everyone from their species was unique in their own special way!

There also was just an inherent happy feeling that Kirby got when he was with Fluff. He felt happy with his friend all the time, but there was something that happiness that was different, it was a bit dizzying at times and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. So, he mostly pushed it to the back of his mind.

However, the same dizziness pulled at his stomach whenever he saw Fluff upset. Again, it was normal that he felt bad when one of his friend was feeling under the weather, but there was an strange urgency in his mind whenever it was Fluff.

And that exact feeling had been nagging in his head as he strolled around Grass Land with Fluff, who was barely paying attention to the lovely views, and kept glancing back at the faint outline of the castle, far away in the distance. To the point he just broke into question after question to get to the bottom of it.

It ended up being something about a fancy but very important dinner the next day, something about an annual gathering of Patch Land's representatives to discuss political matters with the monarch, who happened to be none other than Fluff.

"So, you're worried because you think you can't do it?"

"I _can_ do it!" Fluff said, giving a small hit to his chest, "It's just..."

Kirby waited for him to go on, and eventually gave him a poke in the side.

Fluff sighed, "It's just...I wish I didn't have to do it alone. Unfortunately, I'm the only representative of Quilty Square, while the other representatives may bring their families..."

He bit the inside of his mouth to avoid saying anything else immediately, as it dawned on him that he had never seen a King or Queen of Patch Land, and asking could lead to a conversation Kirby was so not ready for. And by the way Fluff went quiet, he guessed that he wasn't ready either.

"...Can you ask Dom? I'm sure he would love to attend!"

Fluff shook his head, "From Quilty Square, only the royal family may attend."

"Ah...any friends in other parts of Patch Land that can come?"

Fluff shook his head, again, "From each part of Patch Land, only the duke or duchess' families may attend."

"Oh, come on! Who made those rules!?" Kirby kicked a bit of grass near his feet.

"The royal family. We make all of the rules."

"That's it, Fluff! If you make the rules, you can change them too, right?"

Fluff nodded, "Correct, buuuut not on short notice...It can take several months for a change in the laws to be effective."

He gave Fluff a blank stare, and got one equally blank stare in return before he sighed.

"I'll change it for next year," Fluff looked away, "But it's too late for tomorrow's."

"You should change the rule about rule changes taking months," Kirby stopped walking and threw his hands up in the air.

"That's...actually a very good idea."

He couldn't help but grin, "I know, I have great ideas, oh, your Majesty," He heard Fluff laughing so he gave him a playful shove, "You know I'm right!"

"You sure are, hero from Dream Land!"

Kirby started laughing, but cut it short with a gasp when he had another great idea.

"FLUFF! That's it!" Kirby grabbed him by the shoulders, his grin even wider than before.

"That's what?" Fluff tilted his head still laughing, "Are you going to kill me?"

"What-no? I wouldn't do that, even if you were super evil!" Kirby also tilted his head.

"Then what is it?"

"Think about it!" Kirby kept grinning, and he decided to explain when Fluff just kept staring at him, "Well, is there any rules about inviting someone from another land? Like, say, Dream Land?"

His eyebrows shot up, "You don't mean-"

"I do! Can I go!?" Despite Fluff's surprise, Kirby knew he saw some hesitation in his eyes, so he tried to pull out his most convincing puppy eyes, "Pleeeeaaaaseeeeee! That way, you won't be alone!"

"...well," Fluff looked away, and Kirby knew he had it in the bag, "There are no rules against inviting someone from another land...so there are no rules about who from Dream Land may come..." He just had to waited until Fluff sighed, "..fine. You're invited-"

"YEAH!" Kirby interrupted by hugging Fluff as tightly as he could, "Thanks, Fluff! I promise you won't regret it!"

"I-I know," Fluff said as he hugged back, already being quite used to Kirby being so affectionate, "But let go-I've got to explain some rules."

Kirby sighed and let go, "Rules, rules. There are rules for everything, aren't they."

"As a matter of fact, yes," Fluff brushed some dust off himself, "It comes with being a prince. They aren't enforced all the time, of course, but if someone is looking, I must stick to them."

"You should live in the woods, then! Where no one can see you, and no one can tell you what to do!"

The prince laughed while shaking his head, "Is that what you do?"

"Mhm! You should live with me!" Kirby almost slapped himself for saying that, but it felt right in the moment.

He felt something caught in his throat as Fluff laughed, "Maybe. Maybe when I retire."

"You'll always be welcome!"

"You too-I mean, you'll always be welcome in the castle, if you want to stay here some day," Fluff cleared his throat, "Anyways! As I was saying, there are some rules you must stick by, so pay attention!"

Kirby nodded fast, "I am!"

"Great! There's two things that are a must, you must dress to impress, and you must bring a gift from your land."

"A gift?"

"A gift, yes, it's a tribute to be exact," Fluff rubbed one of his cheeks, "It's a tradition, to give something to the royal family every meeting-"

"OH! It's a gift for you!" Kirby hopped in the air, "Oh, I can do that! That's great, I love giving gifts to my friends!"

Fluff seemed somewhat embarrassed as he nodded, "Yes, since it's a gift for me, but it must represent something your land has to offer. More often than not, it's things made, or only found, in the place they originate from."

"Oh, got it! I'll get you the best present from Dream Land, then!"

The dizziness came back when Fluff smiled at him, and Kirby once again pushed that feeling to the back of his mind. There was no time to think about that when he had to focus on not letting Fluff down!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: nksadk this is the first kirby fic i've published so if things are wonky or have strange characterizations, you can imagine why. im mixing hcs with canon, and game with anime (nothing too wild, game characters have their personalities following canon, but anime stuff may appear or be mentioned), but yknow! i also know the synopsis + title are quite vague but what can i say, im pretty bad at those.
> 
> anyways! thanks for readin,


	2. Chapter 2

Seeing as the dinner was the next day (and apparently, right after sunset), Kirby had spent little more time in Patch Land. Both puffballs had agreed that they had to get ready, Fluff said something about writing a welcoming speech and Kirby wished him luck before heading back.

He felt strangely invigorated, there was something that made him extremely excited. Maybe it was the fact he had the chance to help a friend, and getting him a gift. He was so energetic that he wasted no time in running across the grassy hills, all the way to the town near the castle, not stopping even to talk to folks around him.

However, he also felt a pit in his stomach, and not because of hunger. He wanted the gift to be perfect, but the more he thought about it, the less things he found that were unique, or special, from Dream Land. Almost everything he had seen somewhere in Patch Land. Except maybe for the Fountain of Dreams, the Sparkling Stars and the Dimensional Mirror. But he had the feeling that giving any of those to Fluff would be a very bad idea. He couldn't think of a way of moving the Fountain and he was sure it was the mirror that made Floralia's Queen go insane, and if something like that happened to Fl-

Kirby hit his face to stop the thoughts right there, that was a path he didn't want his mind to wander towards. He felt he would have nightmares if he thought too much about it.

So! He decided to think about the gift later, and focus on the attire part first! Luckily that was much easier to think about, as he knew exactly who to pester about clothes and accessories.

"MAGOLOOOOOR!" Kirby waved to him as he ran up to Magolor's Shoppe.

"Kirby!" Magolor greeted, waving back, "How may I help you today?"

Kirby put his arms on the counter, "I need new clothes!"

"Clothes? You're in luck! I just restocked!" The halcandran gave a wink, "So, anything in particular?"

Kirby nodded, "I need something formal."

That took Magolor by surprise, and he tilted his head.

"Hmm," He took a look around before showing a bowtie to Kirby, "Like this?"

Kirby hummed and ended up shaking his head, "It reminds me of Marx, and he's anything but formal!"

"Hey, I can hear you!"

Kirby nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Marx's voice, and he quickly looked around, getting very alarmed when he didn't spot the jester anywhere in sight.

"...d-did you hear that?"

"HI, KIRBY!" Marx popped out from behind the counter, right next to Magolor, making Kirby jump again.

"Marx!?"

"Yep, that's me!" Marx grinned, "The one and only!"

Kirby looked at Magolor, who just shrugged, "He works here. Anyways, I know what you mean, I'll see if I can find something else," He turned around and seemed to search through some boxes.

"Y'know there's nothing wrong with bowties, right?" Marx said.

"Ah, yeah! But-"

"Ties are much more formal," Susie interrupted, also surprising Kirby, "Bowties can come off as too childish."

"Ah, you're right!" Magolor came back to the counter and showed Kirby a red tie, "How's this?"

Kirby grinned and nodded, "That's perfect!"

Marx gave Susie a blank stare, "Why are you even here."

"I know Wednesdays are re-stock days, so I came to offer a new product as well" Susie took the tie from Magolor's hand and inspected it before handing it back, "I don't believe this will be enough for Pinky. He'll look like a toddler with a tie."

Kirby pouted when Marx broke out on laughter, falling behind the counter and out of sight.

Magolor sighed, "Sorry but I'm not sure I have something that works for him. Some waddle dee suits might fit, but they'll cover his mouth, and I think he needs it to talk."

"I do," Kirby said, "And it's a dinner, so I need to eat too. And it's tomorrow so there's no time to take it to a tailor!"

He heard Susie hum, and when he looked at her, she was staring at him.

"How about some shoes? Or a hat?"

"Shoes...shoes, let me check," Magolor again went to search through boxes in the back.

"Thanks for helping, Susie!" Kirby smiled at her.

"It's no big deal. I had the feeling none of you know anything about fashion."

"What are you talking about?!" Marx peeked out from behind the counter again, "I have great taste in fashion!"

"...you dress like a clown."

"So?"

She shook her head with a sigh, "To each their own, I guess," Then she started to touch something that Kirby could only describe as a hand-sized TV screen.

"Woah, what's that!?" Kirby tried to get a better look at it, "New stuff?" 

"Exactly, Pinky, new stuff. It's the product I want to show Magolor, it's a smartphone," She seemed to smile while she showed it to Kirby, who just stared in aw, "It's a much better version of a regular phone, the best improvement Dream Land has ever seen in terms of communication. I'm confident that it will be a smash hit."

"It will!!" Kirby nodded quickly, although he wasn't sure about half of what Susie said meant, but he really wanted to support a friend.

"I know," Susie sounded even happier, "Now, if I may ask, Pinky, I never heard of you dressing formally, is it a very important dinner?"

Kirby again nodded, " _Super_ important. It's the most important gathering in the whole year!"

"Really? I've heard of no such event being planned."

"Oh, it's not on Pop Star, it's in Patch Land! I'm going as a representative of Dream Land!" Kirby held a paw to his chest, smiling.

Susie gave a hum at that, "I've never heard about that planet. Is it technologically advanced? Have they heard about the Haltmann Company?"

"Um...some parts are very robotic, but most are like Dream Land. And I don't think so, they're a bit isolated from the rest of the galaxy."

She kept on humming, "I see...In a scale of one to ten, how interested do you think they would be in the Haltmann Works Company?"

"Is that company the ONLY thing you think about?" Marx interrupted, hopping up and down.

"Actually, yes. I've been looking into expanding to at least five new planets every year, and I need to find another planet before this year wraps up. And it's becoming rarer and rarer to find planets that fit the required criteria I have in mind," She answered, sounding not bothered at all, "So, I must seize every opportunity. Nothing should go to waste."

Marx stopped bouncing, "God, you're worse than Mags."

"Marx, don't be rude to customers," Magolor finally came back from the back of the shop, holding something black and shiny, "Apologies for the wait, this was everything I could find," He put the shoes on the counter and Kirby noticed they were metallic.

"Sabatons," Susie picked them up and inspected them, "Yes, this should do, alongside the tie. They look quite formal in his species."

Kirby grinned, already imagining Fluff's face when he saw him the next day, "I'll take the tie and the shoes!"

Magolor nodded, "Are you paying with gem apples, denden, gold, or some other currency?"

Kirby laughed nervously when he realized he hadn't heard the prices, which was never a good sign at Magolor's Shoppe, "Wait, how much is it-"

"I got it, I'm paying with denden," Susie put a stack of bills on the counter, much to Kirby's relief.

"Wonderful, pleased to make business with you two," Magolor took the stack and started counting it.

"Aw, thank you, guys!" Kirby grinned as he took the tie and shoes, "Thanks, Susie! Thanks, Magolor!"

"No problem, come back at anytime!" Magolor tilted his ears to the sides while closing his eyes, something Kirby had picked up as a 'I'm so happy' gesture from the halcandran. Or at least, he hoped that was what it meant.

"Where's my 'thanks, Marx'," Marx said, giving a glare to Kirby, "You do realize I'm right here too, right? I helped too!"

Kirby nodded, "Thanks, Marx!"

"Much better."

Susie shook her head, "I'll drop by later, Magolor, I have something to talk about with Pinky," Kirby gave her a confused look but she just beckoned him, "Come on."

Kirby didn't get to hear what Magolor said, as he had to rush to catch up with Susie, but he did shout goodbye to Marx and Magolor.

She wasn't running, but she wasn't exactly someone who took their time when walking through town, "So, about Patch Land..."

"Oh! Well, uh, I'm not sure how interested they would be, but I can ask!"

"That would be wonderful. If it truly is so similar to Dream Land, it could be the perfect place to expand the mobile network after smartphones are released to the public. Plus, the isolation is perfect, it could also help avoid interference from foreign signals, and greatly decrease the chances of them hearing rumors from the invansions."

Kirby gave a tentative nod. While he trusted his friend, he didn't want to end up causing some sort of conflict or culture shock in Patch Land. Fluff already had enough stress as it was, and all he wanted was to lessen it, not make it somehow worse.

"...Hey, Susie, I know you already helped me with the clothes, but I still need to get something else before I can be ready to go."

Her eyes shone, "I see. What else do you need?"

"I need a gift! It's a tradition, and it has to be something from Dream Land, something that's not found anywhere else."

"Something native to Dream Land?"

He gave a shrug, "Not _native_ , just something unique from here."

She hummed again, this time much chirpier, "Very well. I'll tell you what, Pinky, I can get you a gift-" Kirby immediately grinned, "-with one condition."

"Does it have to do with your company."

"You know it!" She put her hands together, "All you have to do is to make sure to give a very good impression about the Haltmann Works Company, and of our products."

"Oh, so just tell everyone at the dinner about the good you've done?" Kirby tilted his head as Susie nodded, "And not tell them at all about the invasions?"

"Exactly. Not a single word about that."

"I can do that!" Kirby grinned again, hands up in the air.

To him, it seemed again like Susie was smiling, despite her lack of mouth, "It's a deal then. Here you go," She handed him the small screen she was messing with earlier.

"The smartphone?" Kirby took it, "Are you sure? Isn't this very important...?"

"Oh, we got hundreds in stocks, don't worry about it. They aren't exactly unique, but it is the very first, and we made it in our Dream Land factories, so it is _from_ Dream Land, as well from the Haltmann Works Company."

"Thank you, Susie!!" He gave her a quick hug, smiling widely, "It's perfect!"

"It sure is!" She flipped her hair and fixed up her clothes, "So, let me know how the dinner goes, okay?"

"Okay!! Thank you again!" 

She gave a nod, "What are friends for, if not for making beneficial plans for both parties?" Kirby was about to respond when she kept on talking, "Anyways, I should head back to the office, there's still a lot of planning and testing I have to supervise."

"Makes sense! See ya, Susie! Hope you have fun!" Kirby turned around and waved at her, already running away to head back home.

"See ya, Pinky, you too."


	3. Chapter 3

Kirby barely held himself from jumping up and down as he walked back home, and he only managed to by keeping clearly in mind both metal objects he held in each of his hands, but thankfully, he made it back with zero scratches.

Once home, he lost no time in putting the shoes and tie on. He struggled a bit with the sabatons as he couldn't tell the left from the right, but managed to put them on.

"They're cold," He gave a few steps and cringed at the metallic sound they made against the floor, "And loud." 

The pulled the cover off the only mirror in his house, to take a look at himself.

Susie had been completely right, there was something about the red tie and black shoes that gave him much more formal air. And the phone looked quite classy too, he for sure looked professional.

"Heyy, lookin' good, Kirby," He said, puffing out his chest, striking a haughty pose. Sometimes, it was valid to pat yourself in back, everyone needed a bit of a confidence boost from time to time.

"You are aware you put the shoes on wrong, right?" Kirby's eyes shot open and he looked around in confusion, he swore that had been his voice, not his occasional roommate's-, "Look at the mirror, motherfucker."

Of course, he looked back at the mirror to find his reflection staring at him, although it wasn't wearing any tie, nor shoes, and was completely grey. The background behind him seemed different than his house, too.

Immediately, he felt his face heat up and Kirby quickly swapped the left and right shoes, "I-I knew that."

"You sure did," Shadow Kirby chuckled, "What are you even wearing?"

"A tie and sabatons," He said, fixing said tie slightly, "I'm testing them out before tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow? Someone's funeral?"

Kirby took a deep breath. He knew that mirror counterparts were not exactly the nicest people to talk to, but he had gotten determined, years ago, to try to be friendly with all of them. Well, at least with Shadow Kirby and Dark Meta Knight, he hadn't exactly met too many people from the Mirror World. And besides, Shadow Kirby _was_ himself, in a way, and he definitely could be friends with himself!

"Nope! A dinner in Patch Land. Fluffy invited me."

"Who the hell is Fluffy?"

Kirby did a double take, with wide eyes, to the mirror, “FLUFF! The prince from Patch Land! The one sweet as cake, with big brown eyes, nice voice and who is also soft like cotton and-"

Shadow Kirby stared at him, “What the fuck is a Patch Land."

Kirby shook his head in disbelief, and in disapproval of Shadow Kirby's words. He always said things Kirby refused to repeat. In fact, Shadow acted quite strange, Kirby had hoped that their conversations would bring him out of his shell, because when they first met Shadow was extremely quiet, but the more they talked, the grey puffball only got more…blunt with his words.

Maybe that was how friends treated each other in the Mirror World…? Or maybe he was just a cranky Kirby.

"It's another planet, made out of yarn, you get to it through a magical sock! Prince Fluff rules the place, he’s really good at it, and I'm sure he's of our species!"

That made Shadow Kirby's eyes go wide, "What!? Are you sure?"

"Almost!" Shadow Kirby glared at him because of that, "I mean, he's never been in Dream Land, so I'm not sure, but we look the same when we are in Patch Land. But anyways, you should _definitely_ meet him! You just need to find the Magic Sock!"

Shadow Kirby rolled his eyes, “Fine, whatever. I think I know what sock you are talking about, it might be in Meta Knight 'do-not-enter-or-I'll-kill-you' chest room."

Kirby grabbed the sock from where he kept it, right under his pillow, and showed it to Shadow Kirby, smiling. He'd figured that trying to describe the sock would be a waste of words-it was just a sock-shaped sock-but maybe he would recognize it.

"Yep, that's the one, except that it's less colorful, I know where it is. It's in the same chest as the weird needles."

"Then you can go meet Fluff! Or Mirror World Fluff!" Kirby grinned, "Fluff and I get along amazingly, so I'm sure you'll like Mirror Fluff too!"

Shadow Kirby gave a shrug, his expression dropping, "Eh, I wouldn't get my hopes up, everyone I meet is an asshole."

"I know, but! I promise, people are so much nicer after you get to know them and spend time with them, and it’s always fun to spend time with friends. Fluff especially is-"

“Stop! Stop that," Shadow Kirby cut him off, looking disgusted, “I'm not going to stick around to hear you gush like that. Go back to kissing your own ass."

Kirby sighed as he saw Shadow Kirby walk out of sight. Quickly, the mirror went back to normal, and showed his normal reflection. He stared at himself, pink and wearing tie and fancy metal shoes, with one paw holding a phone, and in the other the most important sock he knew about.

With another sigh, he took the shoes and tie off and put them under his bed, the safest place he could think of. He put the sock and smartphone down there too, so he could hop in first thing in the morning. Then he threw the sheet back over the mirror, making sure to cover it. He had considered leaving right then and staying at the apartment, or trying to find Susie to ask her how to even turn the phone on, but the more he thought about the dinner, the more nervous he felt. Maybe if he spent a night at home, his nerves would die down when he woke up. Maybe the Fountain of Dreams would be kind and give him the best dream ever. Something like a trip to Treat Land with Fluff, or even better, he could take Fluff to the Fountain of Dreams! That would absolutely blow his mind, and with him in Dream Land, he could finally make sure abou-

"Kiiiiiirbyyyyy, junior, goddammit, open up! It gets cold at night!" A shrill voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked at the window, "Sheesh, took ya long enough!"

"Hii, Tokkori, hi!" Kirby opened up the window, letting the small bird in. 

Kirby had know him for a while, for a long time as far as he could remember actually, and though he could be a bit of a pain at times, Kirby took some pride in feeling like they were friends, and he knew he could trust Tokkori to watch his house whenever he left for adventures far and wide. And he (sometimes) gave some adult-sounding advice.

"What was up with ya? Ya looked like you were daydreamin' about the best thing in the world, or somethin'," The bird huffed, flying straight to the other bed in the house.

He closed the window, and stopped to look through it. Way far away in the horizon, he could tell that the sun was starting to set. Quite early to sleep but he didn't feel like going anywhere else. He had to be in top shape for tomorrow! 

"Oi, are you listenin', kid?" Tokkori landed on his head, and peeked out the window, "Is there somethin' comin'?"

"No, nothing," Kirby closed the curtains and walked to his own bed.

"Really? Cuz ya look like your head is in another world," He felt the bird hop off his head.

"I'm just thinking," He laid down on the bed, "I've got to go somewhere tomorrow, and it's super important."

"Ahhhh, so you're all dramatic because of that."

Kirby nodded, "I guess. I mean, I don't want to screw it up, it's a big deal for my friend. And for another friend too…"

"Pssht, oh come on, how many things have ya screwed up before when trying to help someone?"

A few seconds of silence fell between them, and it was only broken when Kirby groaned.

"Alright, nevermind that!" Tokkori said, "First, get up and eat something! Then, think about it very well! You've already screwed up in the past a lot, so you know exactly what _not_ to do!"

Kirby wasn't sure if that was meant to be comforting, but he did get up to look for stuff in the fridge. There wasn't a lot, and Kirby realized that neither he nor Tokkori had bought groceries in a while. But at least, there were some apples.

"It's never good to go to sleep with an empty stomach, it gives ya nightmares! And you're gonna need all of your energy to give your best for your friend, got it?"

"Yeah," Kirby shoved a few apples into his mouth, before putting one in the table for the Tokkori.

"That doesn't sound confident at all, buddy! C'mon! Where's that spirit ya get every time it looks like the world's gonna end!?" The bird ignored the apple and gave Kirby a peck in the head, "Come on, that's not the Kirby I know!"

"Ow!" Kirby glared at him, "Was that necessary!?"

"Yes! Now, answer me! Where's your spirit, pinky!?"

"It's right here!"

"Is it!? Cuz all I see is a sad little kid who doesn't believe in himself!"

"That's not it at all! I'm not even a little kid!"

Tokkori crossed his wings, as if they were arms, "Then you should be mature enough to know that ya can do it, alright!? If you can fight gods of destruction, you can do whatever your friend needs you to do, can't you?"

"I can!"

"Can't hear ya!"

"I can do it!" Kirby threw his hands up in the air.

"What can you do!?"

"I can go to the dinner and not mess up in front of Fluff!"

"Damn right you can, junior!" The bird slammed a fist on the table, "And you better not forget it!"

Kirby lowered his arms slowly as he watched Tokkori peck the apple, his mind taking a second to catch up on what just happened. And when it did, he broke into a grin.

"Thanks, Tokkori!"

"It's nothin', I just couldn't live with myself if I had let ya go to sleep with that miserable expression ya had. It just wasn't right," He shrugged, "That Fluff fella better be thankful of ya, I never thought I'd see ya that nervous about a dinner of all things."

Kirby kept smiling, "I'm sure he will!" He jumped to his bed, "And it's just-this is very important to him! I don't wanna make it go bad, he's already super stressed about it, and I really wanna help him."

"Gotcha, his nerves got to ya."

He shrugged, "Maybe?"

"I mean, what other explanation is there? I've never seen ya that nervous about anythin', in years, pinky," Tokkori said, right before turning the lights off, "Must've rubbed off from him, I'm telling ya, this is very unlike you." 

Silence again fell between them, as Kirby stared at the black ceiling, his mind still thinking about the dinner, and about Fluff.

But that time, he was glad he could say Tokkori was right, he could definitely do it. He would never fail his favorite friend.

Oh, and he wouldn't fail Susie either. He hadn't, at all, forgotten about their promise. Nuh huh.

* * *

Not very surprisingly, Kirby had a nightmare. Luckily, it seemed to leave his mind as soon as he woke up, but he remembered bits and pieces. Definitely had something to do with the Dimensional Mirror, a lot of smartphones, and with Fluff, but the details were lost to his mind, besides that.

While the Fountain of Dreams kept Dream Land, with, well, dreams, nightmares still occurred from time to time, as not all dreams were exactly nice, and to Kirby it wasn't that rare to get strange, and even scary, ones. But at least he could feel himself quite rested.

He got up with a loud yawn, and was slightly surprised to see Tokkori already up.

"Heeyy," Kirby rubbed his eyes, "What time is it?"

"8 am," The bird was reading a newspaper, which Kirby had no idea where he got from. He was almost sure the deliveries didn't get that far out from towns, "I've got to go somewhere, Pitch wants to build a new nest, so I won't be home til later."

"Same," Kirby walked around the kitchen, trying to see what he could find to eat, "Don't forget the keys this time."

He sat at the table when he found some leftover cereal, getting a huff from him, "Shuddup, I know, you're gonna be out dining with your friend," Tokkori then laughed, "If I didn't know ya, I'd call that a date."

Kirby coughed as he choked on his food, having inhaled the entire box way too fast, as well as his plate, spoon and the whole box of milk too. And several pages of the newspaper too.

"HEY! You can't die right now, that's cheatin'!" The bird glared at him while Kirby's coughing fit died down, "That's what ya get for eating like there's no tomorrow, sheesh."

"I get it, sorry," Kirby spat out the newspaper pages, "Bleugh, that tastes terrible."

"Oh, that's disgusting!" Tokkori took flight to get off the table, "That's it, I'm leavin'! You better clean that up before you leave, pinky, or I won't let you back in!"

Kirby groaned, "Look, I'm sorry! I wasn't fully awake." 

"Whatever, just clean it!" Tokkori grabbed a set of keys before flying to the door. He kicked it open and made sure to slam it when he closed it.

The puffball let out a deep sigh before shoving the paper back in his mouth, the bird could be so dramatic and cranky some times, especially in the morning. He got himself a glass to water to wash down the cheap ink taste, and to try to wake himself more. He wasn't entirely sure why he had done that, but he knew some things were better not to think too deeply about, especially when it came to things his species did. There was (maybe) at most one person he could ask about it, and most times he asked, he swore Meta Knight was smirking to himself, so it was another thing to push to the back of his head.

After all, he had places to be and things to do. He put on the tie and shoes, taking a quick look in the mirror, before taking the smartphone. He even checked his regular phone quickly, to make sure there were none strange 'I-need-help' messages, and after making sure of that, he jumped into the Magic Sock, straight to Patch Land.

Once there, he let out another sigh, although it was more of relief than of exasperation. The sun was high up, just like in Dream Land, shining down on the castle's gardens and fountains, which were easily seen through the large windows.

Kirby smiled at the view. While Dedede's castle was far bigger, he firmly thought that the Patch Castle was so much prettier. Everything had a familiar, yet welcoming and warm air to it that he couldn't get enough of, especially the princ-

He shook his head at the thought, it was just another thing to push to the back of his head before the train of thought about the prince got off the rails and crashed in a spectacularly disastrous fashion, leaving several dead and many more injured.

...he really needed to stop thinking about it.

So he took a look around, the magical sock was in a quite fancy room, but Kirby wasn't too sure what it was used for, but then again, he kept the other half of the pair under his pillow, or under his bed, so he was in no place to judge. Seeing there was no one there, he decided to make his way out of the room, maybe he would meet with Fluff somewhere in the castle!

He felt one of his eyes twitch, there it was again, his mind thinking about Fluff and it was starting to distract him. It was just that everything being made out of yarn brought so many memories of when he first visited the castle and helped get rid of Yin-Yarn's monsters, and, well, it was _Fluff'_ s castle, after all.

Some guards found him wandering around, and after a brief chat, he was shown the way out. Nicely. They were very polite guards. But apparently, there was a no-visitors-until-an-hour-before-the-dinner-starts rule that Fluff had completely forgotten to mention, or maybe he thought that Kirby would know.

And thus, Kirby found himself staring at Quilty's Square few buildings as he stood outside the gates of the castle, separated from the beautiful gardens and relaxing fountains by a pair of guards, a huge door, and very high walls. He had to give it to the patch landians though, even the walls around the castle were pretty and well-decorated.

"I'll be back," He told the pair of guards before starting to walk off to find the Quilty Court, "At sunset."

If they heard him, they didn't reply, but that was okay. Waddle Guards acted the same way back at home.

* * *

"Woah, hey Kirby!" Mara was the first one to greet him as he walked up to the apartment building, she was outside the building, just having made her way down the ladders, "Oooh, those are new! Where did you get them? They look great!"

"Hi, Mara!" He grinned, "Thank you! I got them from a friend back at Dream Land."

"Oh, figures! I never see shoes that size around here." 

"Yeah, and they were pretty hard to find at Dream Land too. I got lucky."

"You sure did, they're to die for!" Mara nodded, "Please, if your friend ever gets shoes like that in my size, you have to let me know. I /will/ make my way all the way to Dream Land just to get a pair, if I have to."

Kirby took a look to her feet, he wasn't sure if they even made shoes that small, "I sure will!"

"Thank you! Sorry I can't stay to chat, Kirby, I've got to get to work," Mara gave him another nod, "The rent doesn't pay itself alone, you know?"

"...Ha ha, I know, yeah! Alright, see ya later, have fun!" Kirby waved at her and he made his way to his pad, trying to remember when was the last time he paid rent in Patch Land.

His mind came with no answer at all.

However, he felt a sigh of relief when he saw that his portrait was still on top of the door. He almost lost that relief completely when the door opened with zero resistance, but it came back when he saw his pad right almost like he remembered it. Everything was in place, from the tables to the chairs, to the bed and cushions, and even down to a mirror he had in the room!

Things were...very dusty, and his bed was suspiciously well-made, something he was sure he rarely did, he couldn't even remember last time he did it. Heck, he hadn't even bothered to do it that morning in his bed of regular use. And there was a potted plant that seemed to be thriving _too_ well to have been in an empty apartment for who knew how long...Maybe yarn plants didn't wilt?

...Well, it wasn't the weirdest thing he had ever seen.

But it did creep him out a little too much, so he took the keys, left the room, and locked it.

"Oh, Lord Kirby! How wonderful to see you!" The pink yarnball jumped at the voice, but quickly calmed down when he recognized it as Dom Woole's.

You just shouldn't greet someone out of the blue when they were clearly confused, geez, why did people keep doing that.

"Hi, Dom!" Kirby waved at him, grinning for a second before he remembered something, "Oh, wait! Hold on, I'm sorry! I totally forgot about rent!"

Dom raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"I haven't paid in forever!" Kirby threw his hands in the air, "And I just realized that, I'm so sorry!"

"Lord Kirby, sir, his Majesty has been paying it," Dom tilted his head, "Did he forget to tell you?"

Kirby blinked slowly, it didn't ring any bells in his mind, but it also wasn't too surprising from Fluff, "Oooohhhh. Oh, good, I got really scared for a second there."

The Patch Landian laughed, "Oh, I can see that, but have no worries! I assure you the prince has everything thought out."

He smiled and nodded, "You're right, he's always like that," A sigh escaped from him, "He's so thoughtful."

"He definitely is, Patch Land couldn't be in better hands!" Dom nodded, "Speaking of him though, I hope it isn't rude of me to ask, but you two are usually sticking together, did something happen?"

"Huh? Not at all! Fluff's just busy today, annual dinner and all!"

"Oh, that is today!? I ought to tell my brothers, they were looking forward to showing his wares to the dukes this year. Pardon me, Lord Kirby, I should get going." 

"You're all forgiven!" He grinned, "I bet it must be a crazy day in Quilty Square, huh?"

"Absolutely, I should put up some decorations around the building, as a matter of fact..." He sighed and rubbed his forehead with his mustache, something which Kirby wished he hadn't seen, "Golly, I should help Chaise and Loomis decorate as well..."

At that, Kirby couldn't help but raise his arms again while smiling, "Dom, I can help with that!"

After all, he had plenty of time to kill.

* * *

Turns out, setting up the decorations involved making them _from scratch_ , as they had nothing ready at hand. However, it was nothing the four of them couldn't finish in time! It was a bit past 3 pm when they had both shops and Court fully decorated, and even the brothers had gotten a special outfit in the end, some real fancy hats.

It was just a bunch of patches and lace, but, according to the brothers, that was more than enough to impress anyone, according to the brothers. Kirby couldn't see what was so special about it, but then again, it was a Patch Land thing.

And seeing as Patch Land and Dream Land had very similar day and night cycles, if not the same, Kirby felt like he was just in time to head to the castle and get there in time, even with plenty of minutes to spare. However, he had done a bunch of running around and jumping from roofs to help set the decorations, so he had to stop by his pad to check himself in the mirror.

...Honestly, Kirby had no idea how mirrors made out fabric even worked, but a lot of things didn't make sense in life, so he just rolled with it. He hummed as he pulled the sheet off the mirror, remembering that one time Fluff gave him a weird look about it, and smiled just from thinking about it.

' _"What's that sheet for?' Fluff had asked, right after he saw Kirby cover the mirror, "You can't see yourself like that."_

_"It's how we do it in Dream Land," Kirby had told him, very happy that he could tell Fluff something new, "Mirrors back home can be very weird, so we always cover them when we aren't using them!"_ '

They had said something else but the memory got interrupted when he heard his own voice, in a very strange tone.

"You are so fucking lucky, motherfucker!" Shadow Kirby hit the mirror from the other side, but it was hard enough that Kirby saw some cracks form on it. 

"WHOA, WHAT-" Kirby jumped back, surprised to see his counterpart glaring daggers at him, and that the area around his eyes seemed slightly red (had he been crying?). But the most surprising of all, he didn't look like yarn! "What!?"

Shadow rubbed his eyes, voice cracking as he shouted, "He-Oh by fucking Nova, he's such a asshole! I was just helping him out because _'oooh, that evil Yin-Yarn broke Patch Land so long ago_ ' a-and that bastard of a prince had the _NERVE_ to tell me he didn't need my fucking help! He's an asshole, just like EVERYONE else!"

Kirby really, really hoped that the walls were soundproof. Or that no one in the apartments could hear any of that.

Shadow Kirby stomped his foot, "I am DONE! If he doesn't want my help, he can go fuck himself! I don't give a shit!"

Kirby rubbed his forehead and sighed, he remembered Fluff had said something similar but he hadn't reacted...like that, "I'm so sorry, Shadow...Sometimes, people think they can do things on their own-"

Shadow Kirby crossed his arms, "Then they can do it on their fucking own!"

Kirby felt himself puff up a bit, and he gave a (very soft) hit to the mirror, "-but that doesn't mean we shouldn't help them!"

The grey puffball stared at him as his expression went blank, and Kirby stared back.

"...Why the fuck would I help him!? He's a little bitch!"

"Because! It's the right thing to do!" Kirby threw his hands up in the air, "A hero doesn't care if someone is a meanie, a hero helps people no matter what!"

Shadow kept staring at him, and Kirby decided to keep talking before the puffball left.

"Look, you can do it on your own! You can fix Patch Land without Fluff, and, um, show him who's boss!" Kirby grinned, trying to sound encouraging. That type of talk often worked with Dark Meta Knight, "And, uh, if he tells you to leave, you can tell him to, um…"

"'Fuck off, you yarn bastard'?"

"I was going to say 'get lost', but you can do things your own way!" Kirby kept grinning.

Shadow Kirby didn't seem too convinced, but Kirby was relieved when he replied, "...Fine. I'll see what I can do."

Before he could say anything, the grey puffball ran off, getting out of the mirror's sight. And then Kirby found himself staring at a pink yarnball, his normal reflection. He gave a sigh and adjusted the tie to the best of his ability, feeling a bit worried. Sure, he trusted Shadow Kirby, he was technically Kirby after all, but he hadn't seen him fighting properly. And the fact that the Mirror World's Fluff wasn't being exactly cooperative also left him a bit concerned, who would teach Shadow Kirby how to get around Patch Land…? Would they never be friends?

He glanced at the clock, still not that close to 4, but decided to leave anyway. Grabbing the keys and making sure to be holding the smartphone (he didn't want to imagine what Susie would say if he forgot it), he marched out of his apartment, softly closing the door on the way out. He had to trust that Shadow would be fine. Maybe a solo adventure was exactly what he needed to be more optimistic! And he would surely have a blast in Patch Land, even if he was alone.

The colorful plazas and decorated buildings of Quilty Squares slowly washed off the thoughts off his mind, and the sight of the castle was enough to make him smile.

With a deep breath, Kirby started making his way there, he had to focus on being there for Fluff. Everything would be fine.


	4. Chapter 4

Kirby had to admit, the dinner (or rather, meeting) was quite intimidating, just as he feared.

A bunch of folks he didn't know at all were gathered around the table, and from their looks alone, he guessed they were from different parts of Patch Land, and still they all seemed to be quite in their element. While they looked calm, and sometimes even chatted with each other, Kirby felt like he couldn't even open his mouth. His hands kept fidgeting with his tie, trying to distract himself from the environment.

After all, he didn't want to say, or do, something _not_ formal.

He let out a sigh when he saw Fluff finally arrive, although his relief was short lived. Everyone in the table stood up (or hovered over the chair a bit higher), and Kirby just had to stand up as well. Some of the other guests shot him strange glances as he was the last one to get up, and he was thankful that his face was pink and that his cheeks already had a bit of blush, it made the fact he was burning up less obvious. Maybe. He had no idea what he was doing, and he _definitely_ was not joining another one of these meetings, no matter how much he wanted to spend time with Fluff. The nervousness was so not-worth it! It was so much like one of Dedede's banquets, but as a serious and boring nightmare.

Everyone sat back down after Fluff sat, and Kirby guessed it was some sort of dinner rule. The more he thought about it, Kirby could not thank the stars enough that he was just to the right of Fluff, although it was not exactly within arms reach, as the Prince was sitting at an end of the table (in the fanciest chair in the room) and everyone else had to be on the sides, but at least they weren't far. Having a friend close would definitely make the whole thing better! 

"Good evening, everyone," Fluff said, and made a pause while everyone around the table said something a greeting back, "Once again, I must thank all of you attending the annual Quilty Gathering. Patch Land truly would not be what it is today had it not been for all of you..."

Kirby started zoning out after that, as he just heard Fluff go on and on talking about stuff of Patch Land's past. The speech included a lot of thanking every person in the table, by name, for something they had done. Kirby even heard his name being mentioned, alongside something about Yin-Yarn, and he grinned at him, however, Fluff kept on his speech for quite a while after that.

He didn't even register when Fluff stopped talking, but he was snapped out of his thoughts when a bell rang, loudly, followed by a round of applause. It took his brain a second to catch up, but he guessed Fluff had rung a bell (which was held by a yarn attendant) at the end of his speech, thus the clapping.

Several other patch-landians started serving plates and food around the table, and once again, people were chatting with each other. He caught as Fluff slumped in his seat for a second, before sitting upright. Kirby gave him a smile and a small wave of his hand, which made the prince smile in return.

He really wished he had actual hands so he could've given a thumbs up, but he was sure Fluff got the message either way.

Eating wasn't _t_ _hat_ nerve-wracking, but the fact there were a lot of different spoons and forks made it confusing. Kirby had no idea why some were bigger than others, but he shrugged it off, thinking it was (maybe) because there were a lot of different species eating at the table. In his mind, it made sense; some species had smaller hands or smaller mouths, so the fact there were small spoons _probably_ was to take them into account. It was quite thoughtful, really. And he was proud to say he had stuck to cutlery for the meal, as he had the feeling that inhaling the food like normal would probably be seen as rude.

After the (unfortunately very small) meal, it apparently was gift time because several people offered a gift to Fluff. It was like a birthday party, but weirder. From Grass Land it was a basket of fruits, from Hot Land a vase, from Treat Land a cake (which Kirby really really wanted to try), from Water Land a small chest, from Snow Land a miniature tree (with decorations and everything!), and from Space Land a rock. 

He was very thankful that the representative of the most tech-y part of Patch Land had given a rock, which apparently was from the Moon or something, because it made his gift not seem repetitive, which he was worried about, as it seemed he was meant to give his gift last.

"A-and from Dream Land, I brought this" Kirby said as he handed Fluff the smartphone, trying to not get any more embarrassed about the stuttering. 

"Oh! That is quite a lovely artifact," The representative of Space Land, Lady Ring, said, "I had no idea the kingdom of Dream Land was at such an impressive level of technological development."

"Me neither..." Fluff muttered, giving Kirby a puzzled look, "What is it?"

"A phone! You can thank the Haltmann company for it!" Kirby remembered Susie's words clearly, to make sure the company had a good first impression, "Ever since, erm, the change in management, they've been helping the kingdom, the Great King has worked out several deals with them in the past few months. We've begun building a central town near the castle, with their help! And these phones are going to be the next big thing!"

"Oh, that company must be wonderful to work with then! And that king too of course," Someone else spoke up, Kirby wished he had paid attention to everyone's name, "Perhaps we could attempt some negotiations with both? I believe it would be spectacular if we could solidify economic deals with another planet, especially in terms of new technologies. If that sounds viable to his Majesty, of course."

Fluff rubbed one of his cheeks as he hummed, and Kirby grinned. He did not expect that to go so smoothly.

"Oh, if you do not mind my curiosity, Lord Kirby," A patch-landian from Grass Land spoke up, "Was there any reason why Dream Land's Great King could not attend? Not that you are not welcome here, but I find it interesting that he's not here in person."

"Well," Kirby found himself rubbing one of his cheeks, much like Fluff, "He's a very busy guy, and I'm the one who goes to most gatherings on other planets, I know a lot of people around the galaxy!" 

"I see, you are the spokesperson for Dream Land? Or for this Haltmann company?"

"Sort of...?" Kirby shrugged with one shoulder, "I'm more like a peace-keeper _from_ Dream Land! I make sure everything is okay, everywhere! I answer the call of anyone in need!"

Several people around the table gave small oohs at that, much to Kirby's delight.

"Oh, like a heroic knight!" Someone from Hot Land said, flapping their wings, "No wonder you were such a big help against Yin-Yarn!"

"Precisely," Fluff said, grabbing everyone's attention, "But very well. I will discuss it later with Lord Kirby, Lady Rings. Hopefully, we will be able to work out something with Dream Land. I must admit, technology of this caliber would be hugely benefiting for Space Land."

He was _sure_ that Susie would be over the moon at that development. Kirby hadn't described Space Land very well to her, but he was sure it would be right up her alley. With all those shiny glass things and metal (well, it was fabric too but it _looked_ like it was metal-) 

As a matter of fact, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to bring a lot of his friends here! Hot Land was a lot like Halcandra (except for the fact that there were no huge machines that were about to kill you at every turn), so maybe it would be a nice vacation place for Magolor. Grass Land reminded him a lot of Floralia, and the beanstalk might be fun for Taranza, and for the animal friends too! He could already see Gooey sliding down the Rainbow Falls, and Kine and Chuchu enjoying Water Land, and the many fabled treasures would for sure catch the Squeak's eyes. And Marx could apply for a position of court jester in the Patch Castl-actually, he wasn't going to bring Marx. That didn't sound like a good idea at all.

Again lost in his own thoughts, he zoned out about whatever people started talking about next, sometimes he caught a few words, but immediately regretted it. It was all about economy and busy-stuff, a whole load of adult talk, like taxes and infrastructure, that Kirby didn't understand half of, and did not want to learn about. Planned visits and census, some stuff about laws, he had no idea how Fluff managed to stay focused on all that boring chatter. On the bright side, the yarn attendants had gotten more food on the table.

Everything was going much more smoother than Kirby had thought it would. Everyone was very calm and formal, and even he had eased up into sometimes talking to people around him after a few hours. It really was different from Dedede's parties, because by that point it was almost guaranteed that someone would get in a scuffle. Sometimes it was just something someone said, that made things get very awkward very fast, sometimes people fought each other (which often involved Marx as one of the people fighting), or sometimes someone would throw a piece of food across the table (again, often it was Marx) and a food fight would break out.

Immediately he regretted that thought, because things always went south when he thought that.

"How dare you!? ” A squid patch-landian shouted, catching Kirby's attention, and he just knew he had totally jinxed it, "Cakes are much better than your dumb winter festival!"

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!" Another patch-landian shouted back (probably from Snow Land) lunged to the squid across the table and managed to grab one of his tentacles, quickly yanking it.

Kirby heard gasps and cries all over the table, and several plates fell to the floor, but despite all the noise, he was sure he heard Fluff curse very explicitly under his breath.

The two men brawled on top of the table for a few seconds before several yarn attendants and guests tried to separate them. Even Kirby got up to help, though he was trying to not accidentally hurt anyone.

And Fluff, sounding definitely tired, ended up announcing that the meeting was wrapping up before hitting the bell again.

The prince remained in his seat while the guards dragged the two men out, and as the other guests bid their farewells and apologies to him. Kirby, however, went back to his own seat and waited till they were all gone.

He looked at Fluff, who kept rubbing his forehead with both of his hands, "Magic yarn, _why_ does this _always_ happen..."

Kirby didn't hesitate a second to jump out of his seat and pull Fluff into a hug, who quickly went from tense to slumping against Kirby. He just couldn't let Fluff feel bad! 

"All royal meetings end like this, for everyone! It happens in Dream Land aaaaaalllll the time!" Kirby said, giving a few pats to Fluff for good measure. He had seen Dedede do that when he tried to cheer him up, and he was hoping very badly that it worked.

The prince sighed and laughed, sounding relieved, "Oh, thank knitting, I thought I was doing this wrong."

"Nah! You did great!" Kirby kept patting him until Fluff laughed again.

"Kirby, stop that," Fluff gave him a soft elbow between laughs.

And his laughter was so contagious, Kirby just found himself laughing as well, "Fine, fine, mister oh-so-serious prince!"

Fluff just kept laughing, all while Kirby felt on top of the world. He was fearing that Fluff's mood would've soured up after the meeting, but at least he had fixed that!

It took awhile for Fluff to stop laughing, but when he did, Kirby couldn't shake off just how tired he looked, as if he could pass out right there and then. And well, it was to be expected! It was all so huffity-huff, and he was sure that Fluff had spent all day memorizing his speech.

Kirby _r_ _eally_ wanted to stay, they could get more food from the kitchen or just spend the night together! But a more serious part of his brain told him he had to let his friend rest. That was absolutely what someone smart and responsible would do! 

So, with a small nod to himself, he started talking, "Hey, Fluff."

He couldn't get his thoughts out, as that weird dizziness came crashing back when he realized Fluff was staring at him. Kirby could deal with that feeling, but the issue was that even his previous nervousness from the dinner was back too, it made his throat clam up and his head scramble for the best thing to say. What gives, the whole thing was already over, he had no reason to still feel that, jeez!

"What?"

Kirby looked away, and immediately felt less nervous, how weird, "Uh, nothing," He shook his head, "Wait! I mean, um, I-I should go home!"

That came out even worse than he expected, and he wished he had a mask like Meta Knight to hide his face, it felt like it was on fire! 

"...Right, of course," Fluff sighed and broke apart from the hug, and maybe it had been even _even_ worse than he thought-

"For tonight! Only tonight! I can come tomorrow and we can hang out, just you and I!" Kirby hit his own chest softly, trying to sound cheery, "We can have a picnic lunch!"

He looked at Fluff and felt as if a weight was lifted off his entire body when the prince smiled, "Hey, that sounds pretty good! We can go to Grass Land, or to Treat Land!"

Kirby grinned, throwing his hands up in the air, "Both! Let's do both! Let's go aaaaalllll the way around Patch Land, they have tasty food everywhere, right!? There's apples at Grass Land, curry at Hot Land, cakes at Treat Land, watermelon at Ocean Land, cookies at Snow Land and at Space Land there's um...moon rocks!"

Everything felt _right_ as Fluff laughed so hard he almost fell off the seat, and Kirby felt like patting himself in the back. He had totally not screwed anything up! At all! 

Speaking of Space Land though-

"Oh, we have to talk about Susie's stuff!" Kirby said, and again wanted to pat himself for not forgetting that.

Fluff's laughter died down and he raised an eyebrow, "Susie?"

Kirby smiled, it was always great to tell a friend about another friend, "Yeah, Susie! She's the president of all Haltmann things, she's very nice, but Meta doesn't like her. But that makes sense, she was kinda evil before, tried to take over Dream Land and turn everyone into robots and all that, but she's much better now!" Kirby's smile fell as he saw that Fluff's eyes went wide.

" _What?_ " Fluff's half scared-half incredulous tone made Kirby's smile drop even further, "She what!?"

"She was just trying to help her dad!" Kirby threw his hands up high again, trying to keep his voice from cracking. Those were not happy memories that he wanted to share with a friend, not at all, "He didn't remember her and she really wanted him back! There was an evil computer behind all of it!"

At that, Fluff's expression softened, "You could've started by saying that, by cotton's sake," Then he sighed, "But I'm glad she and her father are better now."

"...just her…" Kirby looked away.

"...so her father is still not a good person?"

Kirby took a deep breath and looked at him, forcing a small smile, "Y'know what? I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, aaaalll the details, okay? I should get going…"

Fluff burrowed his eyebrows, and Kirby felt a bit bad about cutting the conversation like that but-but it was for the best. He really didn't need to think about that. Not one bit.

"...Right," Fluff sounded as confused as he looked, "...I can take you to the sock, let's go."

The prince jumped off the seat, and Kirby quickly followed.

But he felt a bit of a pit in his stomach as they walked in silence, not even side by side as Kirby decided to follow a few feet behind. It felt like there were things they had to talk about but…but it wasn't the time. And besides, walking in silence was definitely fine! They were just tired, that was all, and it was pretty late. He could see the dark night sky perfectly through the big windows on the halls. And it wasn't weird, nor awkward, that the carpet flooring didn't even let the sound of footsteps fill the silence.

Kirby kept himself from sighing, it didn't feel any better even if he tried really hard to think positively about it.

Well, if that didn't work, he just would have to think about tomorrow! That he was definitely looking forward! There were a lot of things to do besides just eating, there were trains both in Treat Land and in Space Land, they could take some fun rides around and check the view! Or maybe try surfing on Ocean Land, or snowboarding in Snow Land! And whatever you could do in a desert in Hot Land, maybe dig in the sand? Make sand-snowmen? Was that possible? More and more things to do just kept popping in Kirby's mind, he'd probably end up spending tomorrow's whole afternoon with Fluff, and he just couldn't wait! Just thinking about it was more than enough to make him smile again, despite the silence.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he walked into something soft, and it pushed him away. It took him a second to register that something was Fluff (and not a wall or a column, everything had such similar soft fabric textures-), who was rubbing his own face. Was he purple color or was that the lighting-

"Sorry!" Kirby rubbed his cheeks, hoping they weren't bright red, "I wasn't looking where I was going!"

"I-it's fine, don't worry about it!" Fluff shook his head, and pointed somewhere, quickly diverting Kirby's attention, "The sock. There."

Right. The Magic Sock. Kirby probably had walked right into Fluff when they got in the room.

"T-thanks!" Kirby wanted to kick himself for sounding so not-calm, that stuttering was making him feel even more embarrassed every second, "Uh, I'll-I'll go now."

"Right, um, goodbye."

It wasn't like their usual farewells, where they would be talking each other's ear off up til the moment Kirby jumped through the sock back to Dream Land. But then again, it wasn't an usual day. And there was nothing wrong with one day everything getting weird-

"Bye! See ya tomorrow!" Kirby didn't even wave before quickly jumping in the sock.

* * *

The moment he saw he was back at his house, he let out a sigh and almost laid on the floor. Kirby had no idea why he felt so drained, it had been just a few hours, and he had Fluff-and food too. He threw the tie somewhere in the room, and took out the sabatons as well with another sigh. He almost threw himself to bed when he remembered Susie wanted to know how the dinner would go.

Humming softly and with a hand on his chin, he thought. He could sleep and then go call Susie to let her know…Or he could go tell her right then, then nap and have even more time to spend with Fluff back at Patch Land! 

Sure, he had said lunch, but it would be good if he showed up earlier! The more time the better, and tomorrow was for sure going to be a great day, not weird at all! 

"Wh-what the...who-" He heard a small voice, and sure enough, he saw a small yellow bird laying in his bed.

"Tokkori!" Kirby cheered loudly, throwing his hands up into the air, "This is perfect!"

"What the-Kirby-!?"

"If someone comes looking for me tomorrow, tell them I'm busy! I'll be back tomorrow night, maybe the next day after! See ya, goodnight!" He said while rushing out of the house, very glad that was taken care of.

He didn't hear what Tokkori said, as he already had closed the door behind him. And without missing a beat, he already was running across grassy hills and dirt paths. He didn't know if Susie would be sleeping, but he was sure she was going to be ecstatic when she heard that someone new wanted to do business with her.

While he could call most of his friends with his regular phone, Susie was an odd case. She only accepted friend calls at noon, and for anything else, people had to call a Haltmann Work's line and beg to be connected to Susie, or use her personal business line, that required big machine that very few people had. He was sure it had something to do with 'online orders' but he had never ordered anything from the company, so he didn't know what was up with that.

But he knew some people that had! Magolor sometimes ordered new products, but he had no idea, where he lived (probably in the Starcutter? But he didn't even want to try to find a flying ship that could travel between dimensions in the middle of the night), but his best bet was Dedede! 

What did the king order from Haltmann's works? Fridges. Lots of fridges, apparently. That Kirby almost got to raid one time, but Dedede found him at the very last second.

As it was expected, most creatures were sleeping, or hiding. Patch Land and Dream Land's night and day were the exact same, so Kirby didn't have to worry about stopping to greet people, or to not run into someone.

Honestly, the only things he saw were noddies sleeping in the middle of the paths, and he was tempted to join them. It just looked so comfortable to sleep in the dirt under the stars.

But no! He kept on running and running, even when his feet started hitting the paved paths of the town near the castle, and even as his feet hit the bricks inside the castle. The waddle dees guards gave him small waves, not even trying to stop him. They probably couldn't, even if they tried.

He waved back, but didn't stop running, he had to make his way to the throne room! That was where Dedede kept the big fancy Haltmann machine. When he asked why it was installed in the throne room, Dedede said the screen it had doubled as a TV screen. 

When he asked why he needed a TV screen in the throne room, Dedede didn't answer. Anyways, with it being so late, he was sure that Dedede wouldn't be using it!

That was much easier said than done though, because he always found himself getting lost in the castle. Usually, he would have Dedede or Bandana lead the way, so he rarely paid attention to his surroundings.

He even found a room he was sure he shouldn't have found while searching for the throne room. The fact the door was locked and hidden made Kirby think it was a very important room, the throne room even! But after breaking the lock and walking in, it was obvious it was not. It was just a barely lit room, with a single thing in the middle…

Kirby was so surprised when he saw the shape under a blanket. That he even stepped into the room and lifted a piece to make sure it was what he thought.

"The Dimensional Mirror...?" Kirby said, completely taking the fabric off it, and immediately stepped back to see it fully, "Why does Dede-"

In the mirror, he saw his reflection, completely pink and made out of yarn. And he gasped.

"Wha-" He looked down at his hand, which was definitely not yarn, and then looked back the mirror, which sure as day was made out of yarn.

Oh boy.

"Oh no! OH NO," He kept staring at the mirror, eyes wide in shock, "Agh! Of course there's a Mirror Yin-Yarn, I should've told Shadow Kirby!!"

His mind raced, and deep down, he had a bad feeling about that.

What if things were really, _really_ out of Shadow Kirby's control…? Everything in the mirror was much meaner, what if Mirror Yin-Yarn was extremely ultra mega _evil_!? Sure, Shadow was the guardian of the Mirror World, and he was just like Kirby, Kirby could definitely trust him! But…

But…Kirby looked at his hand again.

It couldn't hurt to just _quickly_ go in and check on Shadow Kirby, right? Just a very quick check, if he said he didn't need help, Kirby would immediately leave. It was much better to check on someone than to leave them alone! Better safe than sorry. And! He had plenty of time to spare. He could probably skip on napping too and it would be fine.

With a deep breath, he jumped in the mirror.

When he opened his eyes on the other side, he saw the Mirror World's Dream Land entirely made out of fabric and yarn. Even the Mirror on the other side was made out of felt and yarn, and it showed no reflection. On the other side, he was surprised to find that the room was the exact same, not the usual mirror gateway. 

That…couldn't be good, right? 

He ran out of the Mirror Room, the halls and rooms were a blur as his eyes darted around, shouting out his counterpart's name in hopes he would find him, or hear him shout back. He felt his nerves ramping up as he did not see any living creature at all, there were no yarn monsters, no yarn fake waddle dees, not even a Dark Meta Knight jumping out of the shadows to try to stab him! There was just fabric, with very dull colors, and with a strangely frizzled look, like a carpet that had seen much better days way in the past. It wasn't even soft and cute like when the real Dream Land got turned into yarn!

He felt more and more on edge as he kept running, something in the back of his head was telling him he was doing a very, very dumb thing. And it was to the back of the head where he felt a very hard hit. 

Everything went black before he could even hit the floor.


	5. Chapter 5

“Oughh..." When Kirby started re-gaining consciousness, he just noticed how everything hurt. From head to toe, even his mouth and lungs ached, he didn't want to move a muscle! It felt as if someone had slammed him against a wall, multiple times or something-

"Holy shit, I thought you were dead," His voice sounded shaky and Kirby's eyes snapped open. He was _sure_ he hadn't said that, " _Thanks Nova._ "

He was met with grey, a lot of grey, and yarn. Looking slightly up, his eyes met a very relieved face, but it was his own. It took him a few seconds but finally, everything clicked together.

"Shadow?" Kirby said, pushing himself up with his hands despite the pain, and sitting up on the floor. Which definitely felt like pants.

As far as Kirby could see, everything was still made out of fabric, and looked gloomy with its natural lack of color. It was messing with his head and he had no idea where he even was! Why did they make all the things grey in that world!? Telling them apart by color was much easier! Whatever hit him did it really hard, even his brain felt like it got whacked good. He caught a quick look of his hands and he swore he looked a bit frayed...Maybe Mirror Yin-Yarn had beat him up while he was unconscious. After all, everything in the Mirror World was much meaner. 

"Who the fuck else? Meta?" Shadow's expression quickly went from relieved to glaring at Kirby, but he could still see some redness in his eyes and face, had he been crying? "It was about fucking time you woke up, asshole. Jeez. Do you always sleep this much?"

Kirby rubbed his eyes, slowly getting enough strength to stand up, trying to not groan out loud. 

"Bitch," Shadow muttered.

"I-ow-I haven't done anything," Kirby raised his arms slightly and immediately regretted it, feeling a pang of pain on his sides when he tried. Yep, definitely got whacked real good.

Shadow's glare fell, "Oh, for fuck's sake, you don't remember either, do you?"

At that Kirby winced a little. Both from pain and from his brain slowly trying to catch up with what Shadow meant. All he remembered was a hit, then going…then nothing. He tried taking a better look at his surroundings to see if anything stirred up any memory, and he noticed that the walls looked pretty busted, with several holes, small craters and misplaced bricks around, and there was a mess in the rest of the room, too, which he guessed was somewhere in the Dedede castle. Or at least, the Mirror World version of it. The more he looked, the more he slowly recognized it, even with the lack of color. But that was all his head could figure out.

With a sigh, he shook his head, "No, I don't."

Shadow Kirby mimicked his sigh, "Fucking hell, I can't be mad without feeling bad now…you bastard," then he kicked something near his feet, a bit of debris from a wall.

Kirby glanced to the debris as it flew off, then looked back at Shadow, "...so...What happened? Dream Land is all yarn right?"

"Yeah, and Yin-Yarn's here, _somewhere,_ " Shadow Kirby said, "But he ran away after throwing you at me, so I lost track of him."

"Oh..." He looked at one particularly big hole in the wall, and he wondered if that was why it hurt so much, "Aw..thanks for making sure I was okay, Shadow!"

Shadow Kirby blinked, and his eyebrows furrowed, "What? No-Oh, for fuck's sake, I forgot you're stupid," Kirby was about to argue when Shadow Kirby sighed, "I mean, he was controlling you. I kicked your ass."

Kirby eyed the many other holes in the walls again, and the debris everywhere. Suddenly, it made much more sense why /everything/ hurt. And the hit to the head before everything went black.

"...oh...I...I got possessed...?"

"Yes. Like a puppet. You almost snapped out of it a few times but kept fighting. Stubborn asshat."

Kirby looked at his hand again, still slightly frayed but looking a bit better, "...Oh."

The pink yarnball looked away, choosing instead to look at the night sky through one of the holes in the wall. He had no idea which one of them had made it, but it probably hurt a lot. Although his body was feeling better, Kirby felt a pit in his stomach, especially as he figured Shadow had to be bit roughened up as well from the fight.

"'Oh' is right," Shadow Kirby crossed his arms, "You really fuck things up," He tried mimicking Kirby's tone, as their voices were already the same, "'Oh, Shadow Kirby, you should meet Fluff! Look for the Magic Sock and go visit Patch Land! I won't tell you about the evil yarn wizard that you'll unleash upon Dream Land though! I won't tell you that Fluff is an ungrateful bitch either!'"

"I'm sorry…" Kirby's eyes looked down at his feet, not having found any comfort looking at the stars, "He's...he's not like that, he's nice and he's like-"

"Like _us_?" Shadow Kirby huffed, and rolled his eyes, "As if that's a big deal, so is Meta Knight! And I don't see you trying to make us be friends!"

Kirby took a deep breath, that went straight through him, and looked at Shadow, "...okay…you're right, I-" He almost looked away when he saw Shadow glaring, he had been hoping he wouldn't look mad but no luck.

Even if they weren’t the same color, he still saw his face reflected perfectly, and a part of him screamed that it was absolutely wrong to see himself mad.

"Whatever," Shadow muttered, "I wasted enough time. I have to find Yin-Yarn, that dumbass Fluff went after him-"

His eyes snapped wide open, "WHAT!? Why is he here, I thought you were alone-"

"I AM!" Shadow practically lunged forward, getting right on Kirby's face, and Kirby took a step back, surprised at the outburst, "Because you held me back! I ran to Dream Land after fucking Meta Knight told me everything was out of control, but he didn't want to come because I beat him too hard, so I said fuck it and came here on my own!" Shadow stomped his foot, "And that yarn bastard decided he too would come so he followed me, but I don't care! He didn't want my help, I don't want his'! As if I need that bratty prince, he couldn't even deal with Dedede alone!"

Kirby blinked. Once, then twice. Then again, and some more. Each time, Kirby's expression became less distinct until he was just blankly staring ahead, as his head slowly wrapped around Shadow's words. The grey yarnball stared back at him, wondering if maybe he had some sort of brain injury-

"THEN YIN-YARN IS GOING TO KILL HIM!" Kirby shouted, throwing his arms up in the air despite the bit of pain, with wide eyes. Shadow's eyes went equally wide and his mouth opened slightly, "He can't beat him alone!"

Kirby heard Shadow say something but he didn't make it out, the dizzy feeling he associated with Fluff had flared into something he could only describe as panic, and it urged him to try to run and find him. Sure, it wasn't the Fluff he knew, he had never even seen the guy at all, but-but if he was like Fluff, then, obviously, it was totally normal that he was, so worried-

His thoughts got cut short when his feet gave away under him and he hit face-first the carpet floor with a soft thud, not even making it four steps forward.

"...Pink?" Shadow asked and it took Kirby a couple seconds to realize he was talking to him, "...are you-"

"I'm fine," Kirby pushed himself back up, although his arms almost gave up on the process. But he did manage to get back up on his feet, he always could manage-

His head felt wobbly, and his body wasn't that much better. Sure, his yarn didn't look _that_ frayed anymore, but it still hurt a lot. He started walking, one step at the time. It would be fine as long as he didn't run.

Luckily, the room wasn't spinning, but sometimes his vision would get unfocused and everything was double-

"...I hate my life," Shadow sighed, and next thing Kirby knew, he felt a yank, then the rooms and halls, started zooming by. Shadow had transformed into a car and was making his way around the castle, carrying Kirby on his back, going at full speed due to the lack of enemies in the castle.

Kirby blinked a few times, and sighed in relief when his brain caught up to the situation, closing his eyes.

* * *

"PINK!" Kirby felt a hit to his face, and opened his eyes immediately, meeting Shadow's glare.

His head felt much cleared, and his body hurt less, except for where he just got hit, and from the way that his counterpart was looking at him, and from the way he was holding one of his hands, he guessed he was behind that. Kirby rubbed the spot where it hurt the most, one of his cheeks, and sat up.

That time, his mind didn't feel as slow when taking in his surroundings. It definitely wasn't the castle anymore, but a patch of grass outside, under the darkened night sky. Through fog and strangely colored clouds, he could make out a few stars, but they were much less visible than before, as if a dark weather had covered the sky.

The clouds, he squinted and made out they were cotton, and sure enough, when he touched the grass, it definitely was still fabric.

Also, the fact Shadow was still yarn made it quite obvious that Dream Land still wasn't fixed.

"Wha-” Kirby shook his head fast, trying to shake off a bit of drowsiness that stuck with him, but winced when the movement sent a pang of pain through his head, “Ough…Shouldn’t do that.”

“Jeez, you sleep so fucking much!” Shadow gave Kirby a few more hits on the head, much to the pink yarnball’s confusion, “Lazy, lazy, lazy!”

“OW-Stop that!”

With a huff, Shadow took a step back and Kirby shot him a half-hearted glare. He wasn’t _mad,_ he was just-he really wanted to sleep some more. And Shadow was so mean! Kirby felt as if he was puffing his cheeks, but the air again just went through his body, but that didn’t matter, he was going to give Shadow a-

“You two are such children,” Kirby nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice, and turned around with a huge grin and his spirit high again, his mind only registering the ache when his whole body froze in place.

He was looking at another _grey_ yarnball. He for sure had Fluff’s face, voice and crown...but that was as far as similarities went. Kirby’s grin fell a little as he thought over the words, which wouldn’t have been a big deal at all, if it wasn’t by the cold tone Flu-the _Mirror World’s_ Fluff used, plus his disinterested scowl.

“You better shut up,” Shadow Kirby spat out his words, with much more bitterness than Kirby felt comfortable hearing in his own voice.

As if that wasn’t enough to make Kirby’s mood plummet down, the prince reacted by just rolling his eyes, and a pang of the dizzy feeling made him finally take his eyes off him. He tried to look up to the stars to try to ignore that his face was probably burning up with embarrassment, but the fog had gotten only worse since he had woken up.

Yep, the Mirror World was waaaaay too weird, and Kirby was probably not going to visit again anytime soon. And he was not going to tell Shadow to try to find anyone else again.

Kirby felt several eyes boring into him and slowly looked at his counterpart, not wanting to look at the not-Fluff again, and found that Shadow was staring at him, as if expecting something. From _him_. 

At least he didn't look upset.

"So?" It was the prince who broke the silence between the three, and Kirby _almost_ whipped around to look at him, which only added to his embarrassment. Did he miss his friend so much that he kept reacting like that? 

It didn't help that the fog and clouds, despite being much less colorful, reminded him of when his Dream Land was turned all into fabric. 

All the people and places he knew well, fabric outside and inside, and some of them were even forced to fight him! And he maybe could've stopped it long before it got so out of hand, if only he hadn't focused on the damn tomato and stopped to fight Yin-Yarn when they first met- He shook his head, trying to shake off the memories. He had _f_ _ixed_ it, and everything went back to normal!

And besides, when he had been walking around Dedede's Castle with Fluff, he was sure he had something about it, his thoughts had slipped out of his mouth, just from the exhaustion of the whole ordeal.

But that time, all guilt washed off Kirby's mind the moment Fluff smiled at him.

_'"Well," Fluff had said, "If things had been differently, we wouldn't have met, and Patch Land would still be a disaster."'_

He let out a sigh at the much better memory, feeling a bit better just from it. It really was something else how just thinking about his friend Fluff could make him smile-

"...Oookaay, so no one has any ideas," Shadow's tired voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "Guess it's gotta be the old fashioned way. I'm going to kick that yarn asshole so hard that the needles and moustache will go flying out off-"

Kirby's eyes went wide, "No!" The other two yarnballs looked at him at the same time, their expressions were mostly of confusion, but he could tell that Shadow was close to glaring at him, "I-I mean, Yin-Yarn, he's the needles! You have to aim for the needles! Not the yarn body, that's a decoy!"

Shadow's expression mimicked Kirby's, "Oh! So I have to focus on the needles!"

Kirby nodded, a smile breaking into his face. 

"...wait..." The Mirror's Fluff hummed, rubbing a hand on his grey cheek, catching Kirby's whole attention with how uncannily close to Fluff he looked when he did that, "...decoy...decoy...That gives me an idea!"

Before Kirby could ask, the prince pointed at him, "You. You will go up to Yin-Yarn and distract him while we attack the needles from behind!"

Even if Fluff's voice said it with complete enthusiasm, Kirby _hated_ the idea. Distracting someone during a fight so someone else could aim for their weak spot, it sounded wrong…It was one thing to attack a vulnerable spot, but it was another whole thing to take advantage of a trick to do so! to It was something Meta Knight would call cowardly and think lowly of, he had told Kirby to always charge face first into a fight, no dirty tricks, just a fair duel, and the pink yarnball couldn't agree more with the knight's opinion.

"'We?'," Shadow glared at Fl-Dark Fluff (Kirby just had to make him a new name, or else he was going to keep getting confusing).

"There are two needles. One for each, so we stay out of the other's way," The yarnball looked at Kirby, "And, frankly, he one looks like he's about to fall over. We just have to hurry and get the needles before Yin-Yarn unravels him."

As if Kirby couldn't dislike the idea anymore! The prince didn't even sound like he genuinely cared about his safety! 

"I can do that," Kirby looked at Shadow with wide eyes and shaking his head as he spoke, but the grey yarnball was too focused glaring at the prince, "Pink will run up to Yin-Yarn, then we sneak behind that yarn bitch, and I go for the left needle, and you the right one, got it?"

"Exactly my thoughts, glad we can agree on _something._ "

"Hey, guys, maybe there's anoth-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake, you'll be fine! You've had worse!" Shadow waved a hand dismissingly, much to Kirby's dismay, "It's the fucking least you can do to help, too. And heroes _always_ help people, right?"

Kirby felt one of his eyes twitch, not really happy about how Shadow used his own words against him. But he took a deep breath, and steeled himself.

He did want to help, a lot, and maybe he should just let the Mirror's folks do the plan and go along with it, maybe that was just how things were done in the Mirror World. Just...ambushing people.

So despite his doubts, Kirby sighed, "Yeah, sounds...it sounds like a good plan. I'm totally on board…"

"Great!" Again, that danged dizzy feeling hit him when Dark Fluff's expression broke into a cocky smile, and Kirby felt like the whole trip and possession thing was worth it, "Hurry it up then, whatever-your-name-is, this place is getting worse by the second."

"I'm Kirby!" 

Shadow elbowed him, making him to wince, " _I'm_ Kirby. He's Pink Kirby."

"Honestly, I don't care. Just get going."

Kirby nodded, it all felt strangely right, just looking at a smiling yarn prince, who was way too confident in his plans. As if he was back outside the mirror, back home, helping his favorite friend.

Until Shadow Kirby called him a bastard again.

* * *

Shadow Kirby and Mirror Prince Fluff had dispatched Mirror Yin-Yarn quite quickly, and...quite brutally for Kirby's taste. Neither of them hesitated in aiming for the needles, and the wizard had fallen completely for the distraction. It was…very easy, and they could have sent the needles flying back to Patch Land, like Kirby and Fluff did, but…

He felt sick to his stomach just from remembering the sound of the snap of one of the needles, although they left the other one intact until it turned Mirror Dream Land back to normal, and they promised they would let it go after it did. However, much to Kirby's horror, Dark Fluff snapped it in half too anyways. Turns out, Meta Knight was completely right when he said people from the Mirror World couldn't be trusted a lot.

He couldn't even look at the prince in the eye after that, and for the first time in his life, he had been glad that Fluff's face was gone. He barely said farewells to the Kirbies before heading back to Patch Land.

All in all, Kirby felt very conflicted. Shadow didn't seem to care, and he'd just taken the sock and said he'd find somewhere to hide it. He wasn't even commenting on Kirby's lost expression. But the worst part? The pink yarnball wanted to feel mad, to shout at Dark Fluff for that, but his words kept getting caught in his throat, as if his anger wanted to give up everytime he looked at him.

He let out a sigh, his eyes focusing on the floor. Now that everything was back to normal, and dawn was starting to break over the grey grassy hills (visible through the holes in the walls), so it was much easier for him to tell that indeed it was the castle's floor. Just with not a lot of color. Shadow had insisted in walking him back to the Dimensional Mirror, apparently not trusting Kirby to leave when told to, and not trusting he could even find the mirror.

"Oh, by fucking Nova," Shadow Kirby groaning, and took a step in front of Kirby, giving him a half-hearted glare, " _What_ is wrong now? You keep fucking sighing and sighing!"

"Nothing!" By the way Shadow stared at him, Kirby knew that he didn't buy it, "...fine. I'm just…thinking about…something…"

"Let me fucking guess," Shadow's tone reminded him of a very tired and not amused Meta Knight, "It's about the yarn bastard."

"He's not a-hey!" 

Shadow rolled his eyes and turned around, back to walking Kirby through the castle, "I don't get why you care so goddamn much, he's not even the guy you know."

"I know! It's…" Kirby glanced down at his feet. He…didn't know _why,_ but he wanted to know _why_. But talking about it made that dizzy feeling flare up, and it scrambled his mind, "...just…don't you feel it too?"

"What," Shadow stopped again, thankfully not glaring at him, just with a confused expression. 

The pink puffball looked around, there wasn't anyone around (maybe in the mirror, the castle was abandoned…?), but he still felt some embarrassment when trying to talk about it, even if Shadow was himself, in a way, "Y-y'know…the dizziness? I tried to ignore it, but it just doesn't go away!"

His counterpart kept staring at him, with the same confused expression, which only added to Kirby's nervousness.

"Come on! It's like-as if there's a butterfly flying in my mouth, but there's nothing there! I've already checked," Kirby threw his hands up in the air, "And it's only with Fluff! And when I think of him! And I can't be mad at Dark Fluff because I feel it too, but I want to be mad! He shouldn't have snapped the needles! What was he thinking!?"

"...are you allergic to yarn or something."

"I'm not!"

Shadow put a few feet more of distance between them, "Well, I don't know then! I don't feel that! Did you hit your fucking head-"

"No! It's always like this," Kirby groaned and stomped his foot down, "It's-ugh!"

"...sounds like a you-problem then," He heard Shadow mutter, and Kirby huffed, "Can't you ask your friends or some shit?"

Kirby shook his head, "It's too weird to talk about it…I feel weird just telling you!"

"Sucks to suck then. Guess you'll have to figure out on your own."

The pink puffball sighed, feeling as if he was going to deflate. He definitely needed to eat something and get some rest before lunch, or he would pass out.

Luckily, Shadow seemed to actually know the castle's layout, and took him to the Mirror quick enough. Unluckily though, he remained quiet while they walked the rest of the way, giving Kirby a light feeling of deja-vu. 

It wasn't even accurately that, his mind just kept going back to walking with Fluff in silence back in Patch Land, and it kept reminding him of how much he didn't like that. He wanted to go back in time so it would've been different! At least strike a conversation, or a joke, or even play tag, anything could've made that so much better! But noooo, the dizziness just kept gnawing at him.

"I'm telling Meta to kick Dedede's ass," Shadow's voice thankfully snapped him out of his thoughts, "Why the fuck isn't this in the mirror gateway."

"Dunno…it's in this room outside the mirror too," Kirby shrugged. 

"Fucking idiots. Keeping it here is a bad idea. You _be_ _tter_ tell them to put it back where it belongs."

Kirby stepped closer to the mirror, ready to jump through it. While he didn't have a clue as to why it was in the castle, he trusted Dedede enough to keep it sa-

"Or I'm gonna go to Dream Land, find your world's fucking sock and tell that bastard Fluff about the 'dizziness'."

Kirby's eyes went wide open as his face heated up, and he spun on his heels to grab Shadow by the shoulders, "NO!"

"SHIT-I'M KIDDING, I'M KIDDING!" Shadow jumped away in a panic, his back hitting a wall from the force of the jump, "I won't do that!! I swear!"

Kirby stared at him as Shadow stared back at him with wide eyes. Then the pink puffball shook his head, trying to cool his face, "R-right, sorry...Okay. I'll tell them to put it back in the sky."

"...whatever, thanks."

Shadow kept staring uncomfortably at him, and Kirby decided to just turn around and leave, not feeling like he could stomach any more weirdness for the day. He knew Shadow wasn't...the bravest, but really? Looking at him as if he expected Kirby to fight him on the spot? He hadn't shouted that hard, had he?

With a sigh, he went through the mirror, hoping his day ahead wouldn't get any weirder. 


	6. Chapter 6

Kirby felt slightly better back at his home dimension. He was back on track, for sure! 

Although the Dimensional Mirror still gave him a bad feeling, it seemed like a bad idea to him to have it anywhere people, especially after that whole ordeal. Not to mention, Shadow was somewhat right. It should be where it belonged. Also, it wasn't completely safe, as Kirby had broken the lock to get into the room...He needed to tell Dedede that.

But at least, his Dream Land was normal and colorful, not a yarn in sight. It wasn't until after Shadow Kirby and Mirror Fluff had snapped the needles that Kirby realized that Mirror Yin-Yarn could've crossed through the Mirror to _his_ Dream Land, but it seemed it wasn't the case.

With a sigh, he left the room and started walking straight around the halls, not feeling quite energetic enough to run around the castle, but he still had to find the throne room and call Susie. Luckily, if he measured dawn correctly, it should be pretty early, and he could sneak in a nap before visiting Fluff, or maybe even take a nap _with_ Fluff! It honestly was a great idea, all of Patch Land was like a giant pillow.

"Wha-Kirby!? What happened to you!?" He snapped his head up to see Bandana Dee walking up to him, "When did you get here!?"

Kirby grinned and waved at his friend, trying to shake off any tiredness he felt, "Bandee! I'll explain on the way, I need to get to the throne room fast!"

"Throne room-fine," The waddle dee sighed and started walking in the direction he came from, with Kirby following right behind, "But you better tell me what's up, okay? You don't look too great, buddy..."

"It's no big deal, I just helped Shadow Kirby k-beat Mirror Yin-Yarn in the Mirror World!" Kirby did his best to keep up with Bandana's pace, and to sound happy when he talked. He didn't want to think of the mirror anymore. Not at all. Not _t_ _hat_ day. He tried to focus on thinking about his friends, and in sweet dreams, and in food-

Maybe he could sneak in a little meal too before the nap, he was really hungry, when he thought about it.

"...I'm not even going to ask how that happened."

He sighed in relief when Bandana dropped it, and an awkward silence fell between them as they made their way into the throne room.

But walking through halls in silence reminded him of _something_ , and made him want to sink through the floor, if that was even possible. He kept looking around, glancing at the walls, to keep his mind from thinking. Why was he thinking about it so darn much?

To his surprise, and a bit of disappointment, Dedede was sitting on the throne watching something on the monitor screen, he had hoped the rest of the day would be quick. But maybe he was in for an earful, or for Dedede’s antics.

"Great King!" Bandana said as he pretty much ran to the throne.

"Bandee!" Dedede grinned and patted the waddle dee, "What's with the rus-Kirby!?" The king immediately stood up from his seat, dropping a bowl of popcorn to the floor, "What on Pop Star's name happened to you!? Yer hurt all over!!"

Kirby sighed, he hadn't paid enough attention to see his reflection when covering the Dimensional Mirror, but he had hoped that he wasn't _t_ _hat_ bruised from the fight he had with Shadow Kirby. But apparently, that wasn't the case, he hadn't considered how nasty fights could get.

"He fought something called Mirror Yin-Yarn, in the Mirror World," He heard Bandana said, "He was helping Shadow Kirby."

Dedede flinched, "Ow, yikes. _That_ guy," Then he sighed, "Geez, Kirbs, don't go 'round scarin' me like that, how did ya even find the mirror?"

"I found it by accident, I was trying to find the throne room and I-" Kirby paused and then gasped, "I need to talk to Susie, DDD!"

"What ya need is a Maxim Tomato," The king pointed at him, and Kirby was taken aback, "And a doctor! Probably a whole week of rest!" 

Kirby sighed, "Look, I'll be fine, okay? I've got really, _r_ _eally_ important things to do today."

Dedede stared at him, not looking convinced, and Kirby was both appreciative and a bit annoyed at his friend's concern, so he stared back at the king. He was _fine,_ he could deal with it at least for an afternoon, he just couldn't fail Fluff like that.

"...Fine. Geez," The king said, and started fidgeting with what looked like a remote controller, "Bandee, go to the kitchen and get a Maxim Tomato. Kirbs, am getting her on the line."

He heard Bandana sigh before giving a 'yes, sir', then quickly made his way out of the room.

"Thanks," Kirby said and he finally walked up to Dedede, giving a quick look to the screen.

"You promise yer gonna rest later?"

"I promise, DDD."

"You better, ya pink beachball," Next thing Kirby knew, the king had picked him up and put him in the throne, that honestly was much closer to a bed than a chair for the puffball, "And I'm gonna tell Meta Knight ya messed with the mirror."

Kirby sat upright on the seat, "What!? No! Oh, come ooooonnnn, he'll annoy me for days!!"

"Yeah, cuz ya deserve it! Consider yourself lucky I won't tell him til' mornin' rolls around!" Dedede gave Kirby a very soft flicker and in return Kirby groaned loudly, "Aw, quit whinin'! You should've known this would happen! Don’t go around my castle snoopin’ around, kid!"

"Ahem." 

Both of their heads turned to the screen to see Susie on it. From what Kirby could tell, she seemed amused, and a bit tired, with a hand on her cheek.

"Am I interrupting something?" She sounded like she was trying _not t_ o laugh, "Is Pinky in trouble?"

"I'm not-!" Kirby glanced at Dedede, who gave a small nod, and sighed, "I mean, hi, Susie!"

"Hello, Kirby. I'm guessing you are calling about the dinner?"

"Mhm, exactly!"

From the corner of his eye, he saw Bandana run up to the king and give him a Maxim Tomato, who then just put it next to Kirby.

"I'll go check the mirror," Dedede said, "Again. C'mon, Bandee."

"By the way, I broke the lock on the mirror room. You should put it back in the sky!"

"You WHAT!?" The king facepalmed, before turning around and walking out of the room, "Nevermind! Gosh darn it, Kirby!"

"...so. How did it go?" Susie said, getting Kirby to look at the screen.

"Oh! It went great! They'd love to make business with you!" Kirby grinned and shoved the whole tomato into his mouth, feeling much better right after, "I forgot to tell you, but there's a place in Patch Land that's super futuristic! They got a giant city, tube trains, electricity everywhere, flying cars, gravity things and much more, even a moon base! They especially were super interested, it's called Space Land!"

Susie's eyes went wide, "A moon base? That's quite advanced by this galaxy's standards."

"Mhm! I'm sure you'll love it!"

She seemed to hum and nod, "Very well, could you give the planet's approximate coordinates? I'll get goin-"

"Ah, wait! You can't go like that, you have to go through the Magic Sock!"

Susie paused, "...what?"

"Well, everything in Patch Land is made out of yarn and fabric, even the plants and living people! You need to be yarn to be there too, so you have to go through a Magic Sock so your body and belongings adapt to it."

"That's... quite strange," She hummed again, putting a hand in her chin, "But...I see. Is it an alternate dimension?"

Kirby mimicked Susie's humming, he honestly didn't know, "Yeah, something like that."

Susie took out a small tablet and started writing things on it, "Very well. I can make some time in my schedule later this week to visit, perhaps tomorrow."

"Great, I'll ask Fluffy!" Kirby saw Susie raise an eyebrow, "I mean, maybe he’s busy!" 

"Who is Fluffy?"

His eyes went wide and he felt his face get redder, "FLUFF, FLUFF! Prince Fluff! Patch Land's prince!" 

Something shone in Susie's eyes, and despite not having a mouth, Kirby thought she was smirking, "Oh, is Patch Land a monarchy as well?"

"Mhm! Fluff is in charge of everything! It's really cool!"

"He must be quite a busy person."

"He sure is! He really wants to make Patch Land ten times better, and he's doing a great job at it!"

He caught Susie smirking again, although he couldn't guess why, "And yet, he makes time for you. That’s quite sweet."

"Yeah, he's very sweet! But he needs to learn to take a break every once in a while, he's so stubborn about doing everything by himself, and ends up all stressed out, and tries to sleep on the floor. It’s a bit cute, but he does it way too often," Kirby shook his head, making a tsk sound and Susie giggled, "What?"

She cleared her throat, "Nothing. Not a thing...So, are you going to talk to him soon?”

Kirby nodded, a smile breaking out on his face, “Yeah, we’re getting lunch later!” Then he sighed, as much as it would be, there also was some...not fun stuff to talk about, and Susie’s face really, really reminded him of that, “I gotta tell him a loooot of stuff too.”

“Oh?” Susie got closer to the screen, and Kirby was glad they weren’t talking face to face, “Like what?”

"Well, uh, I told him about the whole invasion thing, I need to explain all of that-."

Susie leaned back away from the screen sighing, it definitely was not the sort of thing she wanted to hear. 

“That’s not-” She ran a hand across her face, “Kirby, I told you-"

"I know, I know! But it's important stuff, Susie! The most important stuff! I can't pretend it didn't happen."

"Right. Right…" She put her hands together, "Apologies. It's just…it can put some people off, and I _r_ _eally_ want to make any deals to work out."

Kirby smiled at her and did his best to sound as optimistic as he could, "I promise it'll work out! I know Fluffy will be on board no matter what!"

That seemed to put Susie at ease somewhat and Kirby's smile grew. Yeah, it would absolutely work out and be a great chance to introduce friends to one another! 

"Well, if you're so sure of that, I suppose I have no reason to worry!" Even Susie's voice sounded a bit more uplifted, "I'll drop by tomorrow then, good luck today." And with that, she cut the connection.

Kirby stared at the blank screen and blinked a few times, puffing his cheeks. That…was quite rude! Not too surprising as Susie always seemed to have something to do that she just couldn't wait for, but still! But it was fine, he too had things to do! 

And better to waste no time! The more he thought about it, the more excited he got, again. Even if he had to talk about some…not nice things, it still was time to spend with a friend! With his favorite friend no less! Things would get down sometimes, because so was life, but friends always made everything better! 

Surely, things would just go uphill from there! 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, sorry for the unexpected break, I hit some blocks on the road buuut should be back on track!!  
> also, although i don't reply to comment, I read all of them and I wanted to thank yall! they've been motivating me to keep writing, so thank you!   
> see ya in the next one!


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